Question: A Catholic friend recently
sent us a book explaining the Communion of Saints. It presents the
argument that Christians are the body of Christ and that nowhere in the
Bible does it suggest that this excludes Christians in heaven. It reasons
that saints really are not dead and are more alive that we are here on
earth; that we can ask for their prayers just as we would of our brothers
and sisters here on earth. They go on to say that prayers to saints is no
more worship than asking a fellow Christian for prayer.

Answer: At first glance this argument sounds convincing but it is
not difficult to see that it is really misleading and deceptive. Please
consider the following:

1. Death disrupts the interaction between saints on earth and saints
in heaven

We believe in the communion of the saints – whether we are on earth
or in heaven, we have a joint participation in the grace of Jesus Christ.
However that does not imply that death does nothing to the interaction between us! We all know something of the painful and terrible reality of
death separating us from our loved ones. The soul of the departed is
alive and conscious – in heaven or hell, but there is no communication between the
departed and us. That’s why the Bible forbids us from trying to
communicate with the dead.

A paralyzed limb is still very much part of the body, yet it does not
respond to the body’s commands. Similarly, the dead saints remain part
of the body of Christ, but there is an effective separation from the
living saints. The same Lord who healed paralytics during his earthly
ministry will one day give His
people a glorified and immortal body and gather us all together. Until
then we must face the sad consequence of death: separation!

2. Praying to the saints in not equivalent to asking fellow
Christians for prayer

This excuse may be convincing to some Christians who never had any
personal experience of the Catholic religion. Otherwise, every Catholic
(and former Catholic) knows that praying to Mary or the saints is
completely different than asking a fellow believer for prayer.

Suppose a Christian brother comes and kneels before you, imploring you
with great devotion to pray for him. Would you allow him? How would you
react if he calls you his advocate, his hope and refuge? What if he thanks
you for the many graces you conferred on him and for delivering him from
hell? Suppose he tells you that he confines his salvation to your care and
pleads with you to stay with him until you see him safe in heaven?

Would you call that “asking a fellow Christian for prayer”? Of
course not! That kind of prayer and confidence is nothing less than divine
worship and it should be directed only to the
Lord Jesus Christ. And yet that is exactly the kind of prayer that Catholics offer
to Mary and the saints. For instance, read the following prayer to Mary by St. Alphonsus.

Most holy, immaculate Virgin and my Mother Mary! To you
who are the Mother of my Lord, the Queen of the world, the Advocate, the
Hope, and the Refuge of sinners, I have recourse today, I who am the most
miserable of all. I render you my most humble homage, O great Queen, and I
thank you for all the graces you have conferred on me until now, especially
for having delivered me from hell, which I have so often deserved. I love
you, O most amiable Lady; and for the love which I bear you, I promise to
serve you always and to do all in my power to make others love you also. I
place in you all my hopes; I confide my salvation to your care. Accept me
for your servant and receive me under your mantle, O Mother of Mercy. And
since you are so powerful with God, deliver me from all temptations; or
rather, obtain to me the strength to triumph over them until death. Of you I
ask a perfect love for Jesus Christ. Through you I hope to die a good death.
O my Mother, by the love which you bear to God, I beseech you to help me at
all times, but especially at the last moment of my life. Leave me not, I
beseech you, until you see me safe in heaven, blessing you and singing your
mercies for all eternity. Amen. So I hope. So may it be.

Ask yourself whether this sounds like asking another
Christian to pray for you, or whether this is the kind of prayer should
only be addressed to God. Would you call another Christian your advocate, hope
and refuge? Do you thank another Christian for all the graces he or she
conferred on you? Would you thank another Christian for delivering you from
hell? Do you place in any other Christian all your hope and confine your
salvation to his or her care? Whose mercies would you be singing in all
eternity?

3. Praying to the saints really comes from a distorted view of the
goodness of God

Catholics often have a definite (though unspoken) perception that God
is distant and difficult to reach. For many God is distant because they do
not know Christ who has brought perfect reconciliation, access to God's
presence and a sweet communion with the Father. They feel more comfortable praying to Mary and the saints,
hoping that they are in a better position to persuade God to grant them
the desired graces.

St. Bernard writes: "It is true, of course, that
Jesus Christ is the only Mediator of justice between human beings and God,
and that, by virtue of His own merits, He can obtain for us, and wants to
obtain, pardon and grace as He promised. But in Christ human beings cannot
help recognizing and fearing the Divine Majesty, which belongs to Him as
God. So it was necessary to appoint another Advocate, to whom we can have
recourse with less fear and with greater confidence. And this second
Advocate is Mary" (Quoted in 'The Glories of Mary' by St Alphonsus
Liguori). What a distortion of the goodness of God! God is ever near His
children, for His Son had bridged the infinite gap which had previously
separated us. Contrary to the blasphemous words of man, the Bible assures
us that in Christ "we have boldness and access with confidence
through faith in Him" (Ephesians 3:12).

God wants us to pray for each other as an expression of our unity and
solidarity, and sometimes He does not grant our prayers immediately to
teach us faith and perseverance. Yet there is not a shred of doubt in the
heart of every Christian on the mercy and the goodness of God.

I used to pray to Mary, the saints and the angels as well as to God.
Everything changed when I was saved through faith in Christ Jesus. God
became my dear Father and communion with Him became the sweetest
experience of my life.

Copyright Dr Joe Mizzi.
Permission to copy and distribute this article without textual changes.
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